Knitty: little purls of wisdom
Spinning Loft
Title
beauty shot

Tangy

The first choice for me was the fiber: I chose the Merino Bamboo blend that I carry in the shop. It's simply divine. I made one sweater in it last year and after a few hours of wearing it, I was in love. I dyed myself 4 more colorways and awaited a sweater that was just right. Up came my idea for Tappan Zee. I wanted drape, shine, and something soft and luxurious.

This sweater is a lacy, open, short sleeve/vest cardi that is the perfect little garment to bridge winter into summer. It'll work perfectly as a little warmth over a long sleeve shirt in spring, or over a tank in the summer. It's a sweet little top with movement and flowyness that will just help harbor in the warmer breezy days at the beach. My plan is to wear this all summer long when I need a little bit of something on my back and shoulders over skinny Camis.

spacer model: Amy King spacer photos: 9goingon20

SIZE
A[B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J] (shown in size B)

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FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 36[38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52] inches
Length at center back: 23.5[24, 24, 25.5, 25.5, 26.5, 27, 27.5, 28.5] inches

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MATERIALS
spacer Merino Bamboo Blend [60% merino, 40% bamboo]; 2 ply Sport weight


Note: Everyone spins differently so telling you how much fiber you will need can be a tricky proposition. I used 8 ounces to get 680 yards. I spin light and lofty to get the most out of my fiber. If you spin dense or use a denser fiber, you will need significantly more. If you choose to use Merino or Merino Bamboo, my fiber estimates are 8(8, 10, 10, 12, 14, 14, 16, 18) ounces. This amount doesn't take into account additional fiber for sampling, errors, or changes of mind.

Finished Yarn
spacer Wraps per inch: 34
spacer Yardage used: Approx. 580[640, 700, 780, 804, 900, 980, 1020, 1080]yd/530[585, 640, 713, 735, 823, 896, 933, 988]m

gearbox

Spinning Tool: Merlin Tree Hyacinth for the singles, Majacraft Suzie pro with the accelerated head for the plying
Lazy Kate: Ashford
Spun
spacer singles Z on 22:1 ratio, sliding long draw

Commercial Yarn Alternative

spacer Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool [45% wool, 35% silk, 20% nylon; 192yd/175m per 50g skein]; 4[4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6]  skeins

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
spacer 1 US #6/4mm circular needle, 32 inches or longer

Tools
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spacer Yarn needle

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GAUGE
20 sts/32 rows = 4” in stockinette st

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PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

sk2p: Sl 1, k2tog, pass slipped st over. 2 sts decreased.

T2R: K into front of second st on left needle without dropping st from left needle; k into first st on left needle, drop both first and second sts from left needle.

Diamond Pattern (Worked over a multiple of 9 sts + 2):
Row 1 [WS]: K all sts.
Row 2 [RS]: K1, [k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2] to last st, k1.
Rows 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 [WS]: P all sts.
Row 4 [RS]: K1, [k1, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k1] to last st, k1.
Row 6 [RS]: K1, [k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk] to last st, k1.
Row 8 [RS]: K1, [k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1] to last st, k1.
Row 10 [RS]: K1, [k2, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k2] to last st, k1.
Row 12 [RS]: K1, [k3, yo, sk2p, yo, k3] to last st, k1.
Row 13 [WS]: K all sts.


DIRECTIONS

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YOKE

First Section:

CO 96[104, 108, 116, 120, 128, 136, 144, 152] sts.

K 7 rows.

Buttonhole Row [WS]: K2, k2tog, yo, k to end.

Next Row [RS]: K5, place marker, k to last 5 sts, place marker, k5.

Important: From this point on, maintain first and last 5 sts in garter st (k every row) to form front bands. For every row except buttonhole rows, k first and last 5 sts.

Work 3 rows in stockinette st.

Next Row [RS]: K to marker, [k2, m1] to 2 sts before last marker, k to end. 138[150, 156, 168, 174, 186, 198, 210, 222] sts.

Work 2[2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6] rows in stockinette st.

Second Section:
Row 1 [WS]: K all sts.

Row 2 [RS]: K to marker, k1, [yo, k2tog] to 1 st before last marker, k to end.

Row 3 [WS]: K all sts.

Rows 4-7: Work in stockinette st.

Row 8 [RS]: K to marker, [k3, m1] to 2 sts before last marker, k to end. 180[196, 204, 220, 228, 244, 260, 276, 292] sts.

Row 9 [WS]: K to marker, p to last marker, k to end.

Row 10 [RS]: K all sts, evenly increasing 3[5, 6, 8, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8] sts across row. 183[201, 210, 228, 228, 246, 264, 282, 300] sts.

Work 0[0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2, 2, 2] rows in stockinette st.

Work Rows 1-6 of Diamond Pattern.

Buttonhole Row (Row 7 of Diamond Pattern) [WS]: K2, k2tog, yo, k1, p to last marker, k to end.

Work Rows 8-13 of Diamond Pattern.

Work 2 rows in stockinette st.

Third Section:
Row 1 [RS]: K to marker, k3[4, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3], m1, [k4, m1] to 2[3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3] sts before marker, k to end. 226[248, 260, 282, 282, 305, 327, 350, 372] sts.

Row 2 [WS]: K to marker, p to last marker, k to end.

Row 3 [RS]: K all sts, evenly increasing 2[7, 4, 0, 9, 4, 0, 4, 0] sts across row. 228[255, 264, 282, 291, 309, 327, 354, 372] sts.
Work 0[0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 6] rows in stockinette st.

Work Rows 1-12 of Diamond Pattern.

Buttonhole Row [WS]: K2, k2tog, yo, k to end.

Work 2 rows in stockinette st.

Next Row [RS]: K to marker, k3[3, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 3], m1, [k4, m1] to 3[2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3] sts before last marker, k to end. 282[316, 327, 350, 361, 383, 406, 440, 462] sts.
Work 2[2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 6, 6] rows in stockinette st.

Lower Yoke Border:
Row 1 [WS]: K all sts.
Row 2 [RS]: K to marker, k1, [yo, k2tog] to 1[1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1] st before last marker, k to end.
Row 3 [WS]: K all sts.
Work in stockinette st until work measures 8.5[9, 9, 9.5, 9.5, 10, 10, 10.5, 11] inches from CO edge, ending with a RS row.

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LOWER BODY
Next Row [WS]: K5, p40[43, 46, 48, 50, 53, 55, 58, 60], BO next 51[63, 63, 70, 70, 76, 83, 95, 101] sts purlwise, p until there are 90[94, 99, 104, 111, 115, 120, 124, 130] sts on needle after bound off sts, BO next 51[63, 63, 70, 70, 76, 83, 95, 101] sts purlwise, p to marker, k5. 180[190, 201, 210, 221, 231, 240, 250, 260] sts.

Next Row [RS]: [K to 1 st before bound off sts, T2R] twice, k to end. This tightens up the joins at the underarms and prevents loose sts or ladders from forming at these points.

Work in stockinette st until work measures 11[12, 12, 13, 13, 13.5, 14, 14, 14.5] inches from underarm or 3 inches less than desired length, ending with a WS row.

Diamond Motifs:
Next Row [RS]: K5, work Row 2 of Diamond Pattern over next 11 sts, k to 11 sts before last marker, work Row 2 of Diamond Pattern over next 11 sts, k5.

Work 10 more rows in pattern, working Rows 3-12 of chart as set to form diamond motifs at lower front corners.

Work 3 rows stockinette st.

K 8 rows.

Loosely BO all sts.

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FINISHING
Weave in ends and block as desired. Sew buttons to left front band opposite buttonholes.

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ABOUT THE DESIGNER

designernamespacer Amy King is a crazy homeschooling mom by day, whacked-out dye maven by night. Her first book, Spin Control: Techniques for Spinning the Yarns You Want, is available at your favorite spinning store.

All her exploits can be found here.

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